Homemade Stock and Broth

First off keep in mind that I usually use the term stock when I am speaking about either stock or broth. (So please don’t correct me.) I understand that the main difference is that broth is usually made with actual pieces of meat, where as stock is made from mostly bones and trimmings of the meat. (Except for vegetable stock, where no meat is used obviously.)

That being said, I usually ALWAYS make my own stock. It’s easy to do and you end up saving a lot of money in the long run.

Any time you have a carcass or left over trimmings of meat, you should always make stock.
Turkey, chicken, ham, beef, etc. It all comes in handy down the road.

Anything with bones, or lots of leftover excess.

Let’s say I roast a small chicken for dinner one night.
After the meal, I remove all the skin and fat from the carcass and throw everything into a large pot. Cover with hot water and add salt and pepper.
Set the heat to medium/low and let it simmer for about an hour or an hour and 1/2.

Then pour through a fine strainer to get rid of all the meat, bones and other material.

Leave it in the pot to cool.
After it has cooled you should be able to skim any fat off the top.

Then measure and pour stock into various sized freezer safe containers and lable. I usually do a large one (4 – 6 cups) and a bunch of 1-2 cup containers.
That way if I need a lot I grab the big one. If I need a little, I grab one of the small ones.

I am a HUGE fan of Turkey Stock. I think it has a LOT more flavor than chicken stock.
Give it a try!